Vector Marketing

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR SUMMER! by Sarah Baker Andrus, Director of External Relations & Academic Programs Summer jobs certainly aren’t what they used to be.  The “lazy” days at the beach, running after kids at day camp, or clearing tables after the lunch rush were the typical summer jobs of previous generations.  But with today’s dizzying array of options for how to spend a summer, how do you choose?   It’s not just about getting a job – it’s about getting the job you want and building a career.  So, while those traditional summer jobs are still out there, are they the right choice for you?  Summer work plays an important role in your career development because it’s one way to get relevant experience and distinguish you from other applicants.   Wondering what skills future employers will be looking for?  Regardless of what career you plan to pursue, corporate recruiters are looking for a few characteristics from everyone they hire.  Wondering what those are?  Read more here…     SUMMER JOBS THAT BUILD SOFT SKILLS Corporate recruiters may be looking for different skills and abilities depending on the industry, but the good news is there are some skills everyone is looking for in new hires.  Even better, these are skills that you can develop without any special classes or instruction.  In fact, these skills can only be gained through experience.   Commonly known as “soft” skills, these attributes are the key to fitting into the workplace.  

• Being competent at the technical aspects of a job simply isn’t enough.  Recruiters want to see:
• Solid communications skills
• Strong interpersonal skills and comfort in dealing with diversity
• Independence
• Ability to manage conflict
• Decision-making skills that demonstrate analytical abilities

  When considering how to spend your summer, think about finding work that builds skills in as many of these areas a possible.  Here are some things to look for:  

• Work that requires you to manage yourself and/or others with minimal supervision.
• Work that demands interaction and collaboration with a wide variety of people.
• Work that involves customer service
• Work that is measurable so that your accomplishments are clear
• Work for which you are personally accountable, that shows you can take a task from beginning to end.

    Read more…     Choosing the Right Summer Job for You   The process of hiring and training someone is incredibly expensive, making it that much more important that recruiters make wise choices in their hires.  Summer jobs provide evidence, proof, of what someone can contribute.  The right summer job can show a recruiter tangible accomplishments.  It’s perfectly normal for to be intimidated by the job search process, but keep in mind that the recruiter on the other side of the desk is anxious too.  They may be wondering if the candidate is exaggerating, or worrying that they could be a great interviewer but a lousy worker.  Recruiters want to figure out how the candidate is going to fit in with an existing work team.  Basically, the successful candidate is the one who does the best job of addressing the recruiter’s fears.  And the best way to do that is with tangible facts and relevant experience.   What you want is work that demonstrates you took a project or assignment from start to finish.  Work that shows that people depended on you and you came through.  It’s a good idea to look for work that engages you in more than one way.  For example, camp counselor is a typical summer job.  It can show that you took responsibility for children, which can be really challenging.  But it doesn’t tell me how well you did it.  If you’re hired back the next summer as a unit head, then I know you were reasonably effective.  In that position I can assume you had to also talk to parents, which demands different kinds of communications skills.  That’s better.   Students should also consider their career goals.  If this same student who’s working as a camp counselor is a journalism major, I would suggest that a summer job that provides writing and interviewing experience with tangible work product, like articles or press releases would be much more valuable.   Another good rule of thumb is to think numbers.  In the case of Vector Marketing, students can really show numbers.  For example, “I built a customer base of 150 households.  My sales exceeded $15,000.  Of the presentations I made, 65% made a purchase.”  Anything that is measurable and objective is good.   We’re also looking to see how candidates might deal with difficult or unexpected situations.  That’s something to consider in choosing a summer job – is this something that’s going to be a challenge?  Am I going to be asked to handle things I’ve never done before – will I need to step out of my comfort zone?